Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Cell phone user sues after theater armrest hits her on the head

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Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 03-27-2010, 06:10 PM:

quote:
Taj Showers, settling in for a matinee with her 10-year-old son, did just that as The Incredible Hulk was doing his thing on the big screen. She clicked her vibrating phone and hunched forward to "discreetly" hold her conversation, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court. But it was as she was leaning forward, her head tilted to the side that an upright armrest fell in to position -- bonking her so hard, she says, that she went to the hospital with a concussion.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2121672,showers-suit-cell-movie-armrest-hit-head-032410.article

I think it's karma, don't talk on your phone during a movie. Plus if an arm rest hit her hard enough to cause a concussion and "cause her to drop out of school due to blurred vision" a year after the accident, then maybe it was a kind patron behind her who gave the arm rest a little help [Smile]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-28-2010, 12:45 AM:

When did this happen, 3 years ago? What theater is still showing a Hulk movie? I think about all she might be entitled to is an apology from the manager for having such a loose armrest. But I have never seen an armrest so heavy that it could give anyone a concussion. Something's fishy here.

Posted by John Joseph Fink (Member # 3619) on 03-28-2010, 01:00 AM:

No way to prove her symptoms were from this specific incident - maybe she's into autoerotic asphyxiation on the side! This one will have a hard time standing up in court, then again for talking on a cell phone during the show she probably deserves to be smacked upside the head.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 03-28-2010, 01:38 AM:

I'm trying to visualize how her head could be in such a position that even a loose armrest would have sufficient range of motion to actually hit her on the head. Even if she was ducking below the level of the seats in front of her, the arm rest would almost certainly hit her shoulder before her head. I would really be interested in see someone make a video trying to replicate a position where this was even possible.

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 03-28-2010, 01:49 AM:

Maybe she was doing something else 'down there'. [Eek!]

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 03-28-2010, 02:35 AM:

I'm surprised the headline wasn't "Golden Showers Opportunity as Armrest Thumps Thickhead on Mobile in Movie"

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-28-2010, 10:42 AM:

quote: Justin Hamaker
I'm trying to visualize how her head could be in such a position that even a loose armrest would have sufficient range of motion to actually hit her on the head.

^^This.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-28-2010, 11:54 AM:

Since no one seems to have gotten it, this isn't a case of a fixed-armrest hitting her. It sure sounds like it was where the armrest is able to be moved up and out of the way. She leaned forward (and apparently to the side a bit) and the armrest hit her in the head (likely the back of it since she's got the blurred vision and all).

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 03-28-2010, 12:02 PM:

I'm sorry but something is not right with this story. Those fold up arm rests are just not heavy enough to cause that kind of injury. There has to be more too this than what is being report in the new story, either for or against the plaintiff. Unfortunately, like most of these kind of stories, we are unlikely to hear about the outcome.

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-28-2010, 12:12 PM:

It sounds to me like maybe she bent down to talk on the phone and hit the back of the arm rest of the seat in front of her. Either way she is a dummy and this lawsuit is frivilous.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-28-2010, 12:21 PM:

quote: Sean McKinnon
It sounds to me like maybe she bent down to talk on the phone and hit the back of the arm rest of the seat in front of her. Either way she is a dummy and this lawsuit is frivilous.

The way it reads, the armrest fell from where it had been and to her head. Assuming she isn't lying, that definitely isn't hitting the one in front of her.

quote: Mitchell Dvoskin
Those fold up arm rests are just not heavy enough to cause that kind of injury.

Depends. It really doesn't take that much force to cause a concussion. And it could be these armrests were ones that were extremely heavy. Though the woman will have a hard time proving her case.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-28-2010, 12:43 PM:

I only wish it read "Woman sues after irate customer knocks cell phone out of her hand, kicks her over and stomps on her head."

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 03-28-2010, 01:31 PM:

In all probability the insurance company will wave a few dollers in front of her and there will be a settlement. More costly to go to court. That may or may not be fair, but that's the way it works the majority of the time.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-28-2010, 03:53 PM:

I think the lady is lying her ass off just to get a big pay day. Her story is absolute bullshit. There's not enough weight in a theater chair arm rest to cause a concussion if it dropped down from the upright position. At the very worst you might get a small bump on your head. That's about it.

Maybe if someone ripped the arm rest from his chair and beat her in the head with it I could believe that would cause a concussion. I think the judge needs to take his gavel and beat her about the teeth and gums for wasting the court's time.

Posted by Connor Kirkwood (Member # 5371) on 03-28-2010, 11:15 PM:

I'm rigging all of our armrests to do this whenever someone starts talking on a cell phone during the feature.

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-29-2010, 11:02 AM:

quote:
But it was as she was leaning forward, her head tilted to the side that an upright armrest fell in to position -- bonking her so hard, she says, that she went to the hospital with a concussion.

I've seen some arm rests that when in the down position protude out the back of the chair slightly. I figured that since she was leaning foward she got hit by the back of the arm rest in front of her swinging up and hitting her in the forehead. I don't see how she could be leaning foward and get hit by an arm rest behind her? This whole thing smells like bull shit to me!

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-29-2010, 11:38 AM:

quote: Sean McKinnon
I don't see how she could be leaning foward and get hit by an arm rest behind her?

Leaning down and to the side puts you directly in the path of the armrest that would be moving forward. Sure, it wouldn't happen with the super-short armrests, but lots of armrests are pretty long.

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-30-2010, 10:54 AM:

ok I get it now I guess I skipped over the part where it said down and to the side. Anyways this lady has to be so full of shit you can smell her a mile away!

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-30-2010, 11:14 AM:

Well all it says is she hunched forward, but she could've easily leaned to the side a bit and describe that as hunching forward or said she did that and had the person writing the article describe it wrong.

Still, she'll have a hard time proving her case.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 03-30-2010, 10:07 PM:

quote: Chris Slycord
Leaning down and to the side puts you directly in the path of the armrest that would be moving forward.

It would put your back or shoulder in the way, but I still am having a very hard time visualizing how she would get her head in position to get hit.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-30-2010, 10:36 PM:

Try picturing someone a lot shorter than you doing it. And with the armrests being long.

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 03-31-2010, 09:48 AM:

I second Connor's idea!

Around here, people seem to have gotten the message about
not chatting during the show. Almost all of our complaints
are caused by people texting. The screens on most phones
& PDA's these days are so bright it can light up half the
aisle and is very distracting to everyone sitting behind
the texting twit. (Or tweeting text-er, or whatever.)

While testing our new Techniclor 3D system the other day,
I discovered that while wearing the Tech-3D glasses, I
could not read the display on my cell phone. Apparantly
the polarizaion of the glasses and the filter on the LCD
screen of my phone did not match. I don't know if this
will happen with all cell phones, but if so, it sure
would be one way to cut down on texting during the show!

Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 03-31-2010, 10:53 AM:

Cell phones: ID, block, or destroy them

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-31-2010, 11:15 AM:

If you click on the first link the picture and description clearly say it is a camera detector despite them titling the object as a cell phone detector.

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 03-31-2010, 12:01 PM:

Unless there was a 10 lb weight in the cupholder there is no way that a falling armrest can generate enough force in that much space. The max the armrest could move before hitting her is maybe 3 feet.

The only way to cause a concussion with an armrest is if somebody removed it and wound up and hit her with it really hard. This story is complete BS. The fact that a lawyer even took the case shows what is wrong with that profession.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-31-2010, 03:50 PM:

Agreed. This is like somebody jumping up and hitting their head on a low ceiling, and then suing because the ceiling was too low.

Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 04-01-2010, 10:32 AM:

Mike, I did just that the other week in my own house, but instead of the ceiling, I hit my head on a light fixture and broke it. Oops.

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 04-01-2010, 03:52 PM:

> I hit my head on a light fixture and broke it.

Your head or the fixture? [Smile]

Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 04-02-2010, 03:30 AM:

The fixture. I have been told that I am hard headed, I guess this is just empirical proof. It did hurt like hell, though.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-02-2010, 09:51 AM:

Not to diminish you hurting your head, but that's really not any sort of empirical proof at all.

More weight and force can be associated with a human body in motion than an armrest on a theater chair pivoting down from an upright position. A person can hurt himself pretty badly by hitting his head on a stationary object.

Another problem I have with this arm rest story is I've never encountered theater seats with movable arm rests where the arm rests moved very loose and free. They almost always seem to have quite a bit of resistance or "stick" to the pivot action. With most seats, I could raise the arm rest partially and have it stay put at a 45° angle. Obviously this is another detail to check with the lady's very questionable story.

Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 04-02-2010, 10:27 AM:

I know Bobby, that was an attempt at humor.

The armrests at my old theater could become fairly loose, and conceivably fall like described here if put up at a precarious position and the person in the seat moved a bunch, but they can't have weighed much more than 20oz. Given the short arc of movement and the fact that the weight was closer to the pivot, it is doubtful if they could have generated adequate force to cause injury, even if shoved.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-02-2010, 11:13 AM:

quote: Bobby Henderson
Another problem I have with this arm rest story is I've never encountered theater seats with movable arm rests where the arm rests moved very loose and free. They almost always seem to have quite a bit of resistance or "stick" to the pivot action. With most seats, I could raise the arm rest partially and have it stay put at a 45° angle. Obviously this is another detail to check with the lady's very questionable story.

Doesn't this assume that the thing was in decent working order to begin with? Or at least close to it?

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-02-2010, 01:07 PM:

To some extent, yes. Maybe Lawton is unique, but the problem that usually occurs with armrests at theaters here is scumbag vandals breaking them or completely removing them from the chairs. I can't recall coming across any arm rests worn so loose they freely flop downward.

As others (including myself) have said, even if the arm rest could freely drop from the upright position there isn't enough weight in the arm rest to cause much damage to a person's head. I think someone else would have to remove the arm rest and throw it really hard at that lady's head to give her a concussion. That's a pretty funny mental image.
[evil]

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-02-2010, 06:49 PM:

It's entirely possible that the woman had some sort of anatomical variation that makes her more prone to injury. I know of at least one case of someone getting hit in the head with a beach ball thrown by a 6 year old and having permanent damage (headaches and difficulty with balance). The ball helped force part of her cerebellum through the foramen magnum and doctors didn't at the time feel like touching it surgically because it would have a high risk of making the problem worse (and by worse I mean killing her).

She'll have a hard time proving her case and it very well may be a BS story but it isn't automatically so.

Posted by Joe Elliott (Member # 4006) on 04-02-2010, 07:23 PM:

Maybe some of the people at that screening should sue her for emotional damage and stress, from having to listen to her phone call while trying to watch their movie.